The Exception
by MeRoNa119
Summary: AU. Percy is a successful CEO of his company, but he has never worked a full day in his life. He is cocky and prefers hanging out with his friends over working. When his secretary quits, he hires Annabeth, a young woman who is no-nonsense. Percy tries to win over her heart, but Annabeth doesn't give in to his wooing, like all the other girls do. She is the exception to his charms.
1. Chapter 1

**Here is a new Percabeth story. Remember that this is AU and I don't think that this is how the characters actually are.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

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Percy closed his laptop and leaned back in his chair. Man, it had been a long week of 'working.' He couldn't wait to go out with Jeff and Sam tonight. It had been a long time since his last trip to the bar down on Call Street.

"Isabelle!" Percy called.

The short blonde appeared in the door. "Yes?" She looked annoyed.

"You want to go grab me a snack from the vending machine?" Percy smiled coyly, hoping he could seduce her again.

"No!" she exploded. "You hired me as your secretary but all I've been doing is running your errands for you. I'm done! I quit!"

She turned around and started gathering up her stuff off her desk. Percy hurried over to her.

"Isabelle," he put a hand on her shoulder.

"No, Percy. I'm out of here," she glared at him. Grabbing her purse and a folder, she stalked over to the elevator.

"Crap," Percy muttered.

Jeff, hearing the commotion, stuck his head out of the office next door. "What was that?"

"Secretary's gone," Percy explained and walked back into his office. Hopefully Isabelle would come back around. Although she had gotten furious at him before, it had never been this bad.

Whatever.

On Monday, Isabelle didn't show up for work. Not on Tuesday, or Wednesday either. Percy, not ever working one full, hard day in his life, didn't know what to do with all the phone calls he was receiving and all the mail he was getting. Sure, he was CEO of Waveshift Inc., but he hadn't gotten there because of his hard-working abilities.

Thursday morning, Percy got to the office early (10:00am) and typed up a flyer that said:

Secretary Position Open

at Waveshift Inc.

Must have at least 15+ years of experience and willing to work for the CEO himself. Call (732)-477-8121 if interested.

Feeling satisfied with himself, Percy printed the flyer and asked one of his employees to hang them up everywhere and email them to important people.

The next day, Percy had scheduled twenty interviews. Man, people were anxious to work for him!

The first interview went okay. The interviewee was a pretty brunette but she didn't have any experience. Percy dismissed her and crossed her name off the list. The next guy was probably seventy years old. Percy felt bad but crossed his name off, too.

Person after person, nobody stood out to Percy. Panic started to settle over him… what if nobody was skillful enough for Percy's taste? He needed someone that could actually do the job because he had no clue what the secretary was supposed to do.

The last interviewee was a strikingly beautiful woman, wearing a formal skirt and blouse with her blonde hair tied back tightly.

"Hello, I'm Annabeth," she stuck out her hand.

"And I'm Percy, nice to meet you," he replied.

Through out the interview, Percy was hypnotized by her beauty. He didn't hear anything she said. He was paying attention to her perfect cheekbones and bright eyes. Her eyes were a startling grey, which Percy found very attractive. She didn't seem to be wearing much makeup; her intensely gorgeous looks seemed natural.

He zoned back in when she said, "And that's all."

"Perfect," Percy said. "You can have the job."

"Really? But I have no experience, sir," Annabeth looked confused.

"Eh, you'll be fine. Show up here tomorrow at ten." He put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you," Annabeth said, obviously grateful. "And I'll earn $100 an hour?"

"Sure." Percy could care less about how much he was going to pay to be with her five days a week.

As Annabeth walked out of his office, Percy couldn't help but noticing her perfectly shaped body. Yeah, it might have been a little risky hiring her, but Percy wanted a woman like her working with him five days a week.

Jeff walked into his office as Annabeth left. He wolf-whistled.

"Is that your new secretary?" he asked.

"Yeah," Percy grinned, satisfied with his choice.

"If she becomes your new girly-friend, you're going to have to call that redhead up and tell her you guys are done. Forever," Jeff pointed out.

Percy sighed. He had a messed up relationship with a waitress named Rachel who worked at his favorite bar. They had been together for quite some time, but they just fell apart when Rachel caught Percy with another girl. Percy couldn't help that he got bored of her. But last Friday, Rachel was working again and Percy was feeling up to a fun night…

"I'm not done with Rachel yet," Percy replied.

Jeff laughed and ran a finger through his already spiked up hair. "You're a player."

"And you're not?"

"Touché, touché."

And with that, Percy left the office for the night. He was looking forward to spending more time with Annabeth, and winning over her heart. She seemed like a strong, confident, businesswoman, but Percy's charms never failed. Why would she be the exception?

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**What do you think? Please review and tell me! :) Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Am I making Percy to OOC? This is an AU story, though... please tell me in a review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

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Friday was Percy's favorite day. Today especially was great because it was Annabeth's first day at work. Percy could not get her out of his mind. When he closed his eyes to sleep last night, all he saw was the piercing grey color of Annabeth's eyes. When he stepped into his office, he swore he could still smell her perfume.

Percy tried to clean up his secretary's desk before Annabeth got here. There was a scattering of letters in crisp white envelopes everywhere. He quickly piled them all up, glancing at his watch; 9:55. If Annabeth was to be on time she should be here in five minutes.

Percy just had time to glance at all the paperwork all over the desk before the elevator door opened and Annabeth walked in. Today, she had on a pencil skirt and a blue blouse- something less formal than yesterday but better than what Percy normally wore to work. He decided to impress Annabeth by actually wearing a suit to work instead of a polo and jeans.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, tossing her keys into her leather purse. Her hair, like yesterday, was pulled back tightly with perfect curls cascading down her back. Again Percy had his breath taken away how she wore little makeup and looked so beautiful.

"You're not late. You're early, Annabeth!" Percy smiled, showing off his straight teeth.

"What you think is early to very late in my book," she responded, an indifferent look upon her face. "This is my desk?" she looked appalled by the mess. Placing her bag on the ground she began to organize all the papers way faster and smoother than Percy could've ever done.

When she was done, Percy piped up. "All better?"

"Much."

"So, basically, you answer the phone when it rings and check my emails at least five times a day and…" Percy was at a loss for words. The rest of the time Isabelle had spent at the office was in Percy's lap, with her lips attached to his. Although Annabeth was eventually going to get there, Percy couldn't see that happening today.

"I think I got it," Annabeth said, surprising him.

"Really?"

"Yes," she replied and sat down in the chair. She turned on the computer and went right to work. Percy stood there for a second, amazed by the process in which she was reading the mail and typing out information. When she was reading the letters, she bit her lip in frustration. Her tan skin made her look like she belonged in a bikini on the beach instead of inside an office building all day.

"Do you need anything?" she glared at him. Percy realized that he'd been staring.

"Not right now," he said and walked away. Upon reaching Jeff's office, he opened the door without knocking. Where Jeff was supposed to be sitting was an empty chair. Percy went to Sam's office next door. He wasn't in there either.

In fact, nobody was at work that early except for Percy and Annabeth. Percy had never realized how negligent his employees were. Or maybe he never noticed how proactive Annabeth is.

Percy went back to his office and started a game of Angry Birds on his laptop. Around 11 or so, Sam showed up. He popped his head into Percy's office.

"Hey, man. You're here early," Sam said in his deep voice.

"Come in here a second," Percy gestured for him to close the door behind him so Annabeth couldn't hear.

"Yeah?" Sam looked confused.

"What do you think of my new secretary?"

"Hot," Sam nodded his head in approval.

Percy leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. "She's really studious, though. I don't think I can handle getting to the office at 9:30 every morning."

"Haha, sucks to be you." And with that Sam left. Percy heard him introduce himself to Annabeth who didn't even glance at him.

5:00 came around (eventually!) and Percy went out to check on Annabeth for the umpteenth time. The pile of letters was down to a few and the papers were neatly organized.

"Nice job!" Percy complimented her.

Annabeth just nodded.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" he couldn't help but ask.

She didn't even turn her chair around to face him. "No, sir."

"Well, your hours are 10 to 5 so you can leave now." No response. "I'm leaving now," he added.

She shut the computer down and finally turned to look at him.

"Don't you ever do anything fun on Friday nights?" Percy questioned.

"Just like before, what you consider fun is different than what I consider fun," she gathered up her things, placing them in her bag.

"How about I show you my type of fun?" Percy stepped a little closer.

"I'm good," Annabeth responded, not even hesitating or considering his offer. She started to walk away and Percy caught up to her.

"Okay, well next Friday we should go to dinner or something," he offered.

As they stepped in the elevator, Annabeth looked furious. "Okay, _Percy_," she said his name like a disease. "Listen. I am not interested in anything but a work relationship. I would enjoy going out to dinner only if to talk about something that would benefit Waveshift and not your testosterone."

Percy had to take a step back.

"Okay," he reluctantly said. "I'm sorry for any misunderstandings."

Obviously, his plan wasn't working. He needed a new one. Maybe he'll try coming on slowly. This was a painful process that Percy was lucky to have never encountered until now. But, he couldn't let Annabeth slip away.

He was going to have to gradually win over her heart.


	3. Chapter 3

**Enjoy the next chapter of The Exception!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

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The next week went by so slowly. Every morning, Percy woke up at 9:00 and headed to the office. Precisely at 9:30, Annabeth arrived. He discovered how helpful coffee was to a guy who hadn't had to wake up this early since high school.

He made great care in washing his face and brushing his teeth in the morning. He was trying a new tactic; giving Annabeth the back of his hand. He would look extremely attractive, but not talk to her.

Sadly, this new plan wasn't going as well as Percy hoped it to be. Annabeth seemed to be completely fine with being ignored by her boss. Every day before she left, she printed out a paper that told Percy everything she had done that day for him. She handed it to him without a single word.

On Friday, Percy decided to call a meeting with all of the top employees of Waveshift.

"Now, before we start this meeting, everybody welcome Annabeth Chase to our ranks," he said loudly. Sam, Jeff, Carlie, Brian and Walter all clapped.

"I would like to enforce a new rule of mine. It seems that Miss Chase is the only employee to actually arrive to work on time."

"Or early," Annabeth muttered. Percy smiled and kept talking.

"The work hours are 10 to 5 and I expect all of you to be here no later than 10:15! Got it?" Percy looked around at each member of his high council of sorts, and they all nodded.

"Secondly, we are going to expand Waveshift. But to where? Miss Chase has a presentation for us." Percy sat down and Annabeth stood up.

During her presentation, Sam leaned over in his chair and whispered to Percy; "She's changing you, man. This isn't good."

"Shut up," Percy angrily whispered back. But… maybe Sam was telling the truth. The last time Percy had called a meeting of any kind was over a year ago. And now he was arriving to work extra early. And he hadn't hooked up with any girls the past week. Annabeth _was_ changing him, and Percy didn't like it. He was supposed to be the one changing her!

Everybody around him clapped and Percy came back to reality.

"Well done, Miss Chase. Now everybody is dismissed."

Percy walked over to Annabeth. "I like your ideas. How about we chat over lunch about your idea to expand to-" Percy glanced at the white board; "the east coast?

"I'd love to," Annabeth said, pleasantly surprising Percy. Percy walked her down to the lobby of his building and showed her across the street to a little bakery. They sat down at the wooden tables and an old waitress took their orders.

Percy had never been to this bakery before, and it was pretty. Orange and yellow tile covered the walls and the floors. All the tables and chairs were the same light brown wood. It smelled heavenly, and the cakes on display in the front tempted Percy.

Percy and Annabeth chatted about Waveshift for five minutes, with him agreeing to every concept she proposed. Then he started to change the topic.

"I used to live in Georgia," Percy told the beautiful girl sitting across from him.

"Really? I bet it was hot there," she said, taking a sip out of her water.

"Only in the summer time. It's much worse here in California." Percy mentally cursed at himself. Only a fool would bring up the lame topic of weather. How could he let this conversation get this boring?

"Where did you work before Waveshift?" Percy wanted to know a little more about his future girlfriend.

"A place called home. Quite boring," Annabeth admitted.

"This is your first time in a real office? But you're so good at it!" He exclaimed.

Annabeth smiled. "Thanks."

Score 1 for Percy! He got her to smile! Next up is to ask her out on a real date. Then kissing. And so on after that.

Their food came, and after that, Percy bought a whole chocolate cake for his secretary and him. Throughout their little lunch date, if it even can be called that, Percy learned quite a few things about Annabeth. She had two younger brothers that were in jail and only out if Annabeth decided to bail them out. She grew up in Las Vegas, but moved as soon as she graduated as valedictorian of her high school. Her favorite food was chocolate and anything chocolate made her happy.

Percy felt thoroughly pleased with how far he got today that it made up for the crappy week behind him. They returned to the office but Percy couldn't focus on anything. He would stare out his window at the back on Annabeth's head. He loved listening to her voice and she talked with people on the other end of the phone line. He would admire everything about her, even her blonde eyelashes and gray eyes.

Jeff came into his office around 4:45.

"Hey, let's go out tonight," he told Percy.

"Eh, I have something else already planned." He didn't know why he was turning down his best friend on an offer to do his favorite thing, but he felt like he should be more composed in order to get Annabeth to like him.

Jeff angrily sighed and sat down on Percy's desk. "Ever since Annabeth came, you've been changing your personality so she likes you. You need to teach her to live on the wild side. You need to be yourself, and she'll surely like you back."

Percy nodded. It only had been a little time trying to win Annabeth's heart over, and he had changed so much. Maybe he should get her to like him for the way he is.

"You know what, I think I'll take you up on that offer for tonight," Percy decided, quickly returning to his original plan to get Annabeth to love him.

Percy grabbed his jacket and followed Jeff and Sam out of the office building, winking at Annabeth as he passed by.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. And this is not meant to offend anybody. I'm just playing with the characters and giving them interesting personalities.**

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Monday rolled around nice and slowly after a weekend of partying. Percy dutifully woke up and got to work around 9:30. Even though he wasn't going to change to make Annabeth like him anymore, he still decided getting to work on time was a good quality the CEO of Waveshift should have.

When Annabeth arrived, Percy called her into his office. His palms were sweaty and his voice shaky. All because he wanted to talk to a girl? Percy thought he was going crazy. He'd approached many random girls before so why was he getting nervous to talk to a woman he already knows?

"Good morning, Mr. Jackson," Annabeth placed Percy's coffee on his desk.

"Thank you, Annabeth. You know I need to you to stay after work today to help me with something. Think you can spare an hour? Or do you already have dates waiting down the block for you?" Percy asked, effectively making her blush.

"I'll stay," she retorted and left his office. Percy grinned. He planned this all out on the drive to work this cold, rainy morning. He would use his charms when they were all alone after work. He thought that she would be more willing to open up if there wasn't the possibility that they'd get interrupted.

Percy killed the time by pretending to read Annabeth's presentation from the other day, but secretly staring at her through his glass walls of his office. Around 11, Percy gave up trying to look like he was working and pulled out his phone.

'17 New Messages,' the screen read. Sighing, Percy unlocked his phone and read the texts. They were all from his latest hook up, Caitlin. She was saying the same thing they all did, 'Where are you?' 'Why did you leave?' and 'I'm not a one-night type of girl!' Percy snickered to himself at the thought of how Annabeth would soon be another girl to him and he could stop trying so hard to win her over.

But, somewhere inside him, Percy knew that Annabeth would never just be another girl to him. Annabeth was different than almost every other girlfriend Percy had. She was composed and elegant, gorgeous but stern, naturally stunning and kind. She was perfect.

Percy enjoyed the game he was playing to catch his newest secretary, but it got tiring. Why didn't she fall into his arms like all the other girls? Rachel took Percy a couple of weeks, too, but she was… different.

Oh! He forgot to call it off with Rachel. Percy told Jeff he would finally tell her it was over, but Percy never got around to doing it. Whatever, it was fun to watch her get all worked up when she found out Percy had been cheating on her.

Again, his conscience got in the way. Percy knew it wasn't right to do that to a lady. Why was he so heartless?

Percy worked up the courage and starting typing a message to Rachel. He said he was sorry to do such a thing to her, but he's in love with another girl. As soon as he sent it, Percy felt relieved.

Sam walked in the office at that moment, and Percy shoved his phone back in his pocket.

"Who ya' talking to?" Sam questioned, noticing Percy's attempt to hide his phone.

Being honest, Percy sighed and said, "Rachel. Told her we are… over."

Sam looked stunned. "Wow! That takes a lot of guts. I didn't know you had that in you."

Percy was offended. "Well, thanks. What do you want?"

"I wanted to chat but obviously somebody is in a bad mood so goodbye," Sam spat at him and slammed the door shut to Percy's office on his rampage out.

Percy didn't get a moment of silence. Before he could think a single nasty thought about his best friend, Annabeth knocked on the door.

"Come in."

"Uh, Mr. Jackson, there's someone here to see you," Annabeth opened the door and Percy sat up in his chair. There was none other than Rachel standing next to Annabeth. She didn't look mad or sad. In fact, she was smiling at him.

"Hey, there, Percy!" she exclaimed. She was wearing a blue blouse with black pants, looking like she just came from her job as an accountant.

"Rachel! Not that I'm not happy to see you but why are you here?" Percy said oh-so-smoothly. Annabeth snickered and closed the door behind her. Rachel came and sat down across the desk from Percy.

"Percy, the last time we talked, things were different than they are now. I can tell that you have matured. Took you long enough, but seriously, I'm curious who the lucky girl is," Rachel said, her red hair bouncing as she talked.

"Huh?" was all he could respond.

Rachel sighed. "Look, our relationship was never meant to work out. We both knew that. So I figured when you officially 'broke up' with me, you will have gained some maturity and actually found a girl you really care about."

At this, Percy felt his cheeks getting hot. How did Rachel observe this much about him?

"So I'm here to congratulate you and learn who this girl is. After all, we are just going to be friends, and you tell friends these types of things."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Look, Rachel, there isn't a lucky girl because I'm currently single. Shocker, I know, but the truth is that there actually is a girl I have feelings for, but she isn't mine…yet."

"I know that look. Percy, your plan isn't going to work out," Rachel commented.

"How come you know so much about me?!" Percy exclaimed.

"It may not seem like a long time to you, but we've known each other for quite some time. I've picked up on some of your habits. Like making stupid plans that only make whatever situation you're stuck in worse," Rachel pointed out.

Percy didn't say anything.

"I'm guessing it's the pretty blonde out there."

Percy kept his mouth shut.

"Well, I wish you luck. And we're having lunch together as friends this Saturday. Bye-bye, Percy!" And with that Rachel walked out of the door, leaving Percy feeling as though he'd been hit by a tornado.

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**Please review! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**I have a countdown to October 8th, 2013. If you don't know what that is, I'm ashamed! Or maybe I'm just overly obsessed...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

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Saturday at noon Percy arrived at the Bistro. Waiting for him, smiling, was Rachel. Percy inwardly groaned. He'd been hoping she'd forget her own invitation. Truthfully, Percy didn't want to talk to the red-head anymore. He'd spent a good long portion of his life in his on/off relationship with her and he was done.

"Hello, Percy," Rachel greeted, giving him a quick hug. She was dressed casually, in a red tank top and pants.

"Hey, Rachel," Percy said. He almost considered saying 'Let's get this over with' but something in him told him that would be too rude. Maybe he should start trusting Rachel like a friend. After all, it's not like they could be enemies after everything they did together.

"How was the rest of your week?" Rachel made small talk as they sat down at one of the tables.

"Good. Yours?"

"Also good," she replied. "So, let's talk. How's it going with Annabeth?"

"Eh," Percy stalled, not knowing whether he was going to actually tell Rachel his thoughts. He could use a girl as a friend, though.

Making up his mind, Percy said, "We had a decent conversation after work on Monday."

"Oh, how'd that go?" Rachel sipped on her lemonade.

"I mean, it wasn't bad. We talked about work for the first five minutes, then I asked her about her life. She opened up a little bit."

"What do you think she considers your guys' relationship?"

"Friends…?" Percy hesitated. To be honest, he never really thought about what she considered their relationship to be. The only thought he had running through his mind was to make her love him in return.

"You've changed, Percy, but not enough," Rachel criticized.

"I don't want to change my personality for some girl!" Percy exclaimed angrily.

"Look, I know you don't want to. But girls like a guy who's caring, who's sweet, who is honest." Rachel sipped her lemonade and then continued. "Just six months ago, you weren't any of those. You're getting closer every day. I believe you have two choices. Option A is to stay the same way you are and not get Annabeth. Option B is to _become_ a better person and be with Annabeth. Not change, but _become_."

"How do you know so much?" Percy was in shock. This was his business, so how did Rachel know any of his problems, or actually, his main problem…?

Rachel just smiled. "Never mind that. Just tell me, do you want my help or not?"

Percy sighed. He really could use help. So far, his plan to woo Annabeth had been failing. "Fine."

"Awesome! In enlisting my aid, you're going to have to go with Option B that I offered you earlier. Is that okay?"

Percy didn't want to make this decision. He'd been trying to delay it as long as he could. But it seemed that he was being forced into confronting it. Truthfully, he was wondering if Annabeth was worth all this trouble.

As soon as he thought that, part of him felt guilty for thinking that. Obviously, Annabeth would be worth all the trouble.

"I guess," Percy muttered.

Rachel grinned widely. "So, from what I've gathered, Annabeth is on one complete opposite end of the spectrum from you. You've got to come to the middle to have even a friendship start. We'll take this in steps! Step one is to start actually working during the week…"

* * *

Percy looked at his reflection one last time in the mirror. He was wearing a nice white shirt with a green tie and khakis. Rachel told him that it would be best to not be too buissness-like but to not be too casual. She said he didn't have to fly to the moon and back to get Annabeth, but to instead slowly 'become' a better, more lovable guy.

Percy was actually surprised by how little change Rachel wanted to make. She had three steps in her master plan, and they weren't as bad as he feared. After all, it would be ridiculous to completely warp himself.

He had in mind that he would have to be a stickler for the rules just to get Annabeth to look at him. But, as Rachel pointed out, she was already acquainted with him, so she must like some of his personality.

When he arrived at work, Percy worked for a little bit, then took a break, then worked, then took a break, etc. He didn't mind working if it involved taking a break. He chatted with Annabeth at lunch, and went out for dinner with Jeff and Sam four out of the five nights in the week.

As the week progressed, Percy began to think less and less of him changing. He was just adjusting a few traits about himself. Rachel had used the word 'become' and that was most accurate.

Friday at lunch, Percy asked Annabeth out to dinner that night.

"Are you busy tonight?"

"Not unless you count going to the gym and then renting a movie productive," she replied.

"Well, would you want to come out to dinner with me instead of doing those boring activites?" Percy crossed his fingers and shut his eyes, making Annabeth laugh, while at the same time he could hope she said yes.

"I'd love to." She smiled, and walked back to her desk.

Percy was pleasantly surprised. He didn't know that just working a tiny bit more, dressing a tiny bit nicer, and caring a tiny bit more would cause him to be attractive to Annabeth. How come he never thought of any of that before?

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**Ah, Rachel and her genius helping poor Percy out... Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Enjoy the next installment of 'The Exception'**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. Or The Office.**

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Percy arrived early to his date with Annabeth, because he knew that she liked to be early. Surprisingly, she only arrived on time. As she walked up to him, Percy smiled. She was wearing a purple blouse and black jeans. In other words, she was stunning. Her hair was loose and she had put on a little makeup.

Percy nervously smoothed his green polo shirt. He knew he looked good, but seeing Annabeth still made his stomach flip a little bit.

"What is this horror?!" Percy exclaimed as she approached. "Miss Annabeth Chase arriving _on time_ to something? No way!"

She laughed. "Hey, outside of work, I'm not always freakishly early."

"You hungry?" Percy asked, stretching out his arm.

Annabeth took his arm and said, "Very!"

They walked into the Italian restaurant. Percy was greeted with the smell of bread. His stomach growled.

"Italian food is actually my favorite," Annabeth admitted to him as they sat down and a waiter gave them water.

"Really? Well lucky for you, because it's my favorite too!" he told her.

"Are you just saying that?" Annabeth looked skeptical.

"Yeah, I'm serious," Percy chuckled.

"So, what do you do outside of work?" she asked him.

Percy hesitated. "Sometimes go to parties, watch tv, swim, normal stuff."

"You swim?"

"Sure do," Percy stated. "That's why I'm so muscular."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I think that's neat, because when I was a child and all through high school my dad made me swim on the school swim team."

Percy was surprised. "Really?" he said, and got a nod in return. "Wow, for some reason I can't see that. I expected you to…"

"Be studying all the time?" she said.

Percy was a little embarrassed. "Kind of," he admitted.

"That's okay," Annabeth reassured him. "I definitely do care a lot about my job, but I do have a life outside of the office."

He was pleasantly surprised. As the waiter took their orders, Percy examined Annabeth up close. She really was gorgeous. He loved the way her grey eyes analyzed the menu. Her eyelashes were a pretty brown, which was strange because her hair was blonde. And she didn't seem like the type of girl to dye her hair.

After he ordered, Percy voiced his curiosity. "So, your hair is natural?"

She looked weirded out but answered his questioned. "Yeah, never done anything to it. I'm not that type of girl."

"I'm not saying you were, I was just curious. So, what high school did you go to?" Percy tried to change the topic.

"Local high school, Dalton County High. You?"

"I used to live in Georgia," he told her

"Oh, yeah, you told me that at work the other day," she said. "So are Jeff and Sam still your friends?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't they be?" He was confused.

"Just wondering," she sipped on her water. Percy didn't know why he wouldn't still be friends with Jeff and Sam, but okay.

"Jeff is actually throwing a party next week. You should come."

"Uh, I'll think about it," she smiled at him.

"What, too afraid to go to an actual party?" Percy teased.

Annabeth's face fell. "No," the woman sitting across from Percy said firmly.

Percy raised his hand. Strike two for him already tonight. Two topics have already made her defensive, which is never a good thing on a date.

"Sorry, that was past the line," he felt guilty.

"Let's just move on from that topic. What do you like to watch on tv? Occasionally I sit down and watch an actual show and not a movie," Annabeth's smile returned.

"Uh, anything really. I used to watch The Office when it was airing," Percy said.

"That's cool," she replied.

"You've never seen that show, have you?" he smiled.

Annabeth laughed. "Yeah. So who was that red-haired lady that came to talk to you the other day? For work-related business or not?"

"She's my friend. She has a job, but not with any of Waveshift's providers," he told her.

"Why'd she come?" Annabeth was really curious.

"Is that jealousy I sense?" Percy teased.

"Nope, just plain ol' curiosity," she said.

"Well, since you obviously want to know more, she is my ex," he admitted. "We were together for quite some time, and…"

"And?"

"Nothing," Percy smiled to cover up his hesitation. He really didn't want to tell Annabeth everything about him on the first date.

The rest of the date went perfectly. Percy didn't hurt Annabeth's feelings any more and he was starting to realize that everything he did outside of partying and drinking and hooking up had some sort of connection to her.

A voice in the back of his mind begged him to bring up Jeff's party. But, Percy really didn't want to hurt Annabeth. He was completely infatuated with her, and the thought of saying something that she didn't like made his stomach roll.

When they were done with dinner and dessert, Percy walked Annabeth out to her car.

"Good night, Annabeth," he said.

"'Nite, Percy," she got into her car and drove away.

That's when Percy noticed something. Annabeth had changed a little bit too. First, she arrived on time. Second, she was actually talking to him as her friend, and not her boss. Third, Percy could definitely tell she was starting to fall for him.

He didn't get a kiss, but Percy's first date with Annabeth was amazing.

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**Remember, I'm playing with the characters. Obviously, this isn't the actual Annabeth and Percy that Rick Riordan writes about.**

**Secondly, my stories are only proofread by Microsoft Word and I, so if I happen to make any mistakes, please tell me! **

**Please Review! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

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September came around the block sooner than Percy ever remembered. His days were all becoming one big happy blur. He would work during the day and relax at night. Almost every weekend, he took Annabeth out on a date. Percy started to forget about his old ways with every single date they had.

Percy could sense Annabeth changing too. She became less uptight and laughed at his jokes. Even though they had only been dating for two months, Percy felt like he already wanted to propose.

But one person didn't forget and obviously held something against Percy; Sam. Sam kept pestering Percy to do this and do that when Percy didn't really want to go skydiving at midnight when he had to work the next day.

The morning of September 5th, Percy came into work with a huge smile. Over the weekend, Annabeth and him went out to the movies and then went roller-skating. It was the best date Percy had ever been on, better than the time he got two blondes in his bed at one time. He really wasn't into that stuff anymore, anyways. But old-fashioned going to the movies with your girlfriend could never get old.

He stopped on the way to his office to say hi to Annabeth.

"Morning," he sat down on top of her desk.

"Morning," she smiled. "Please get off my desk, Percy."

"Fine," he said and kissed her on the cheek. "See you at the meeting in an hour." Percy headed in his office. What once were clutters of paper were now binders of organized paper. With Percy's new work ethic, his company was profiting. That is why he was holding a meeting, to tell everyone about their new raises.

He heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," he called. The door opened to show Jeff and Sam, both who looked very upset.

"Can I help you guys with something?" Percy said carefully. It was very awkward and potentially dangerous talking to his old friends who looked angry about something.

"We just wanted to say that we quit," Jeff spoke up.

"Oh," Percy raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

"Because we don't like the way you're running this company," Sam responded.

"You don't like doing actual work," Percy suggested. They both continued glaring at him. "Well, suit yourselves. I would personally be very upset if I lost two salesmen like you guys, but if that's what you want then okay."

"I told you he didn't care for us!" Sam exclaimed. "Let's go, Jeff," he said and stormed out of the room. Jeff hesitated to follow his friend and Percy seized his chance. Truthfully, it would be very hard to find two new applicants for jobs. If he could convince one of his former friends to stay, that would be better than both of them leaving.

"Jeff, hold on a sec'," Percy said. Jeff, to Percy's surprise, turned around and sat down.

"Look, I've known you for a long time and I know what you're capable of when you put your mind to it. I really think you would be better off staying here and adapting to the new working environment. All the other employees are loving it. Why aren't you?"

Jeff sighed. "Like you said earlier, I don't like doing actual work." He shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing I can change about that."

Percy leaned forward in his chair. "Haha, you're joking, right?" In response to Jeff's confused look, he continued, "Jeff, if you leave here where are you going to work? There's probably not another place that would pay you as much as I am wiling to pay you for the little amount of work you do. You just got to pull it together and actually _try_ for once in your life. It changes your outlook on life. You earn the money you work for and it feels good! So, if you still want to quit, that's terrible, but I won't try to stop you. But, if you take my advice, you'll reap the benefits."

Percy leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He felt like he did a nice job convincing Jeff not to quit. But only the moment of truth will tell if he did as great of a job as he thinks he did.

Jeff looked down at the ground and didn't say anything for a minute. Finally, he opened his mouth and said, "I'll get back to work, boss."

Percy laughed from relief. "That's my man!" He clapped Jeff on the shoulder. "You won't regret this."

"Let's hope. Jeff had a small smile on his face as he left Percy's office.

Once the door closed, it was opened again by a pretty blonde.

"What just happened?" Annabeth asked, shutting the door and coming over to him.

"Sam and Jeff attempted to quit. I talked Jeff out of it but Sam's gone," Percy told her. "Would you mind making an ad for a salesman position? That would be great."

Annabeth kissed him lightly on the lips. "Don't worry about Sam. He didn't work anyways. We'll find a new, hard-working person."

"Thanks," Percy told her and watched her walk out the door. His mind was running wild. Did Sam seriously just quit the job he'd been working at for a good ten years? A job that paid him more than any other for the little amount of work he did? Sam was an idiot and not Percy's acquaintance anymore, but it still hurt Percy a little to lose an employee that he didn't even get a chance to talk to.

Percy whipped out his phone and dialed Sam's number. He didn't pick up. Percy wasn't surprised. He shut the phone, closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. He'll just have to try again later to talk sense into the devil.

Percy got up from his desk and walked into the conference room, excited to tell his employees about their raises. Work, in a weird way, is more fun now that he's actually trying to do a good job. It's hard to tell why, but Percy is now excited to wake up and see and Annabeth and chat with Carlie about her newborn daughter and take a bathroom break and see that all of his employees are trying to help Waveshift.

It's a new life; it's a fun life. It's life with Annabeth.

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**Yes, I know that was cheesy, but Percabeth is all about that!**

**Please review! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yay! An early update! :)**

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to keep doing this? See previous chapters if you want one.**

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Percy nervously straightened his tie. Even though he'd been with Annabeth for quite some time, getting ready before their dates made him worried and anxious. He made sure his teeth were brushed and his hair looked messy, but attractive.

He drove over to her house at 5:45, as to not be late. He knew how that would bother his girlfriend. And, they were heading to a company party. Since he was the boss, he should probably be there on time.

When he arrived, Annabeth was waiting outside for him. She looked stunning in a formal blue dress.

Percy reached over and opened the car door for her. "You look beautiful."

Annabeth blushed. "Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself."

He pretended to be insulted. "Well I thought I always look good."

"You do, but we can't let your ego get any bigger or it might explode," Annabeth joked.

They continued lightly bantering back and forth until they arrived at the venue. Percy led Annabeth inside by the arm and they sat down at a reserved table.

But, he was only seated for a second before people started attacking him. "Hey, Percy!" "How's it going, my man!" "Percy, it's so good to see you!"

Percy talked to a ton of his employees, all the while looking over to see Annabeth staring at him with a sad expression on his face. He felt guilty, but every time he tried to head back to her, another person would approach him.

The meal started and a relieved Percy headed back to his table. Sitting in his spot was Brian. Annabeth threw her head back laughing at something he said. Since Annabeth didn't see him approaching and somebody was making her happy, Percy decided to go sit somewhere else.

All through out dinner, Percy kept stealing glances at Annabeth. She was still chatting with Brian! The smile on her face was enormous and she looked like she was having the time of her life.

Percy had to admit, he was a little jealous. Everybody in the office knew that they were dating, so why would one of them try to get Annabeth from him.

In that moment, Percy realized he was doing something wrong. He was just sitting back and watching Annabeth be won over by another guy. He had to do something about it.

Just as he stood up, Walter took the microphone at the front of the room. Percy quickly sat back down, disappointed.

"Thank you all for coming tonight!" Walter said. "I just wanted to welcome one of the most successful men in this room tonight. He is going to talk to you about Waveshift's tremendous increase in sales this past year. Please give a warm welcome to Mr. Percy Jackson!"

Percy was surprised. He wasn't told that he was going to have to make a speech of any sort.

He walked up to the front of the room while his employees applauded. As he took the microphone, he stared out into the room of about three hundred people. Panic started to set in. So, Percy just did the thing that Rachel told him to do- be honest.

"Well, honestly, I didn't know that I was going to be making a speech tonight." The crowd chuckled. "But, since Waveshift Incorporated is making a huge increase in sales, it won't be that hard to put something together."

Percy realized that that sounded so terrible of a boss. Fishing a blank index card out from his pocket, he said, "I'm just kidding. I always have a plan." He smiled at Annabeth, who was trying not to laugh because she knew that he was lying. So much for listening to Rachel's advice.

"This year, Waveshift Incorporated has increased it's sales by fifteen percent." He paused to let the crowd clap. "This is due to an increase in effort on our part. I haven't always been a believer in hard work, but once you actually put forth the effort, the benefits are awesome, aren't they?" He smiled and looked down at the card, making it look like he had a plan.

"Most of you guys have received a raise this year, am I correct?" He paused again to the loudest cheering of all. "I just want to take these statistics and say that if you put forth effort, you _will_ be rewarded. If we keep working as hard, no, I'd rather have you all trying harder each day so next year, who knows how successful we'll be! Keep up the amazing work. I appreciate every single one of you. Thanks for coming out here tonight. Enjoy the food, it's great."

And with that, Percy turned the microphone off and headed back to his reserved table. Brian was still in his seat.

"Hey, man, did I take your seat?" Brian asked as Percy got closer.

"It's ok," Percy told him, even though it wasn't ok at all. "I'll just pull up a chair."

"No, no, have your seat back," Brian offered.

Percy said a quick 'thanks' and sat down. Soon the dining hall was filled with chatter again.

"You two looked like you were having a good time," Percy told his girlfriend.

Annabeth sighed and took his hand from across the table. "I was waiting for you to come back the entire time."

"How about we take a walk." They stood up and strolled outside into a garden.

"So pretty," Annabeth commented.

"Agreed," Percy said, looking her in the eyes.

"I was talking about the flowers," she said, lamely.

"I wasn't." Percy leaned in to kiss her. They stayed like that for a long time, then sat down on a bench.

"When I was a kid, I tried to grow a garden," Annabeth told him.

"In Vegas? Wasn't it hot there?" Percy asked.

"Yes, that's why all the flowers died," she said. "But I kept trying because I thought that one spring they would bloom."

"Did they ever?" he asked.

She nodded. "The summer of my junior year in high school. But they were destroyed during a party I threw. Somebody danced all over them and crushed them."

"Did you throw a lot of parties?" Percy couldn't help but asking. What if they both shared something bad in common?

She sighed. "I'll tell you about that someday."

Percy smiled and gathered his courage to say; "I have stuff to tell you too, _someday_."

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**Please review and tell me honestly what you think. I love feedback! You guys have been doing a great job on reviewing, but the more the merrier!**


	9. Chapter 9

**So, I'm sorry for not warning you in advance, but this is the last chapter of 'The Exception.' Thank you to everybody who reviewed and gave me ideas.**

**Enjoy!**

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TWO YEARS LATER

Percy's life was perfect. He had an awesome job and a girlfriend beautiful on the outside and the inside. They went on dates almost every weekend and were constantly calling each other. They had long passed 'I love you,' and Percy felt like it was time to propose.

Percy planned the perfect date to propose to Annabeth. They would head out to the beach and spend the entire day there. He packed a picnic with sandwiches, chips, and Annabeth's favorite- chocolate bars. At the end of the day, they would lie on the picnic blanket and he would pop the question.

That sounded like Annabeth's dream proposal. He was nervous only because he knew he would have to tell Annabeth about his ways before he met her. She already told him that she used to party and then when she was kicked out of high school, decided to go the opposite way. Percy was completely understanding to her story, but would she be to his?

He picked his beautiful girlfriend up at ten o'clock Saturday morning and they had the best car ride. They blared the music and Percy had the best time listening to Annabeth try to sing.

When they got to the beach, they ate their sandwiches and then went out into the water. They splashed, and swam, and kissed all day long.

The day passed faster than Percy wanted it too. Night time came too fast, and Percy was getting really nervous. He just had to gather up the courage and be honest with Annabeth.

After they had been lying down for a couple of minutes, staring at the stars and making up funny constellations, Percy asked Annabeth to sit up. He sat across from her and began his speech.

"Annabeth Chase, you have changed my life so much. When I first met you, all you were in my mind was another one night type of gig." He saw Annabeth's eyes widen a little bit. "That's all I used to care about. But, since you were the exception to my horrid tactic of getting girls, I had to bend a little, actually a lot, if I wanted to get you. For some reason, I decided that you were worth it. With a little help from Rachel, I turned my life around and, hopefully, became the guy that you want to spend forever with. So, Miss Annabeth Chase, will you marry me?"

The moment of silence that passed by next as Percy waited with his arm stretched out and watched her face intently. He was so sure that she would say yes, but now she's hesitating.

"Yes!" she exclaimed after two terrible, terrible seconds of Percy waiting. He slid the ring on her finger and kissed her with all he had.

What had started out as an exception was now his beautiful wife. Sometimes it's good to go a little bit out of your comfort zone.

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**Life lessons from Percy :) **

**I really hope you enjoyed reading this! Thanks again to all who reviewed. I read every single review, even if I don't respond.**

**Adios! Happy reading!**

**-MeRoNa119**


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